In July, the group warned it could face a 674 million euro bill from Belgium’s tax authority and said last year’s purchase of department store group House of Fraser out of administration may have been a mistake.

Sports Direct’s auditor Grant Thornton has also quit and the retailer is struggling to find a successor.

A spokesman declined to provide a reason for media being banned from the AGM this year.

Most British corporate annual general meetings are open to media. Members of the media were invited to the Sports Direct AGM last year. (Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Jason Neely and Edmund Blair)